A Shiny Course PR To Start The Season...
On Sunday January 12th; I ran the Bishop's Events Winter Hains Point 5k at my favorite spot in our Nation's Capital; Hains Point. I signed up last minute near the end of 2024 for many reasons as this course is fast, flat, and most of all fun. I wasn't trained at all for the 3.1 mile out and back road race because of a new schedule and routine as well as too many inches of winter mess that kept me inside. My goal was to test any running fitness I had but I added a second goal of not slipping on ice or snow.
Pre-Race Things
For a local low-key race like this one; it made sense to get to Hains Point about an hour before race start to pick up my race number and race shirt; I paid a few dollars extra to get the long sleeve run tee over the short sleeve run tee for the race. I did about a little over a 1/2 mile warm up as I hadn't run in days and I knew I'd go full out when I started my 5k hence a short warm up. One of the girls I swim on Ancient Mariners with Laura; who is a runner by nature as well as a swimmer and triathlete was running the 10k and I saw her running some pre-race miles in which we exchanged waves and hellos. The snow had melted for the most part but I noticed some patches of snow and ice to be mindful of for the actual 5k I'd be racing. The weather that morning was cold; actual temps in the 20s with wind chills in the 10s. I made sure to get a Crank Sports Juicy Watermelon e-Gel and down it with a small bottle of water as the 10k race was starting. I wanted to watch my swim buddy Laura go off and then gather for the 5k pre-race meeting. My twin sister Julie came down with me to get out as well as support both Laura and I.During The Race Things
The 10k road race started at 7:45 am so as soon as they ran over the timing mat I made my way over to the start corral for the 8 am start of the 5k road race. The race director talked a bit about Operation Turbo, which was the presenting charity for this BE race. This is one thing I LOVE about this low-key race company; each race has a charity attached to the races they produce and part of our entries go to the charity. I'll talk more about it this when I do my review of BE on my blog. Anywho I was like when will 8 am come to hear 'Take Your Marks' then the 'G O' word. There weren't many runners as BE had a few other races that morning in the area so I lined up towards the front with the really fast runners. The word was said and as I went over the timing mat I pressed the start button on my Garmin.
I knew to be careful of the first mile as I ALWAYS go out too quickly. My Garmin was thankfully covered by my fleece lined arm warmers and running gloves (because it was kind of chilly that morning) so I was able to focus on things other than my pace (aka my Garmin). There were a few runners doing the race with their dogs and I stayed behind the runner who was running with his gorgeous German Sheppard; leashed to his waist. Pacing off the runner and his dog felt good but about a half mile in; I felt I was holding myself back too much so I made sure to let them know I was passing on their left. I gave the German Sheppard a little pet as I ran by and told them both to have fun. I wasn't going to let a dog beat me in a 5k road race. There wasn't too much ice and snow in the next half mile; as the water station and Mile 1 was approaching. As I grabbed the small cup of water and thanked the volunteer manning it; my Garmin blared... Mile 1 - 8:16. This wasn't bad for taking it somewhat easy and not going all out. After sipping a little water I saw some ice maybe snow ahead of me. There was a narrow part that looked clear but a huge part that looked very dicey and there were also 10k runners coming the other way; so I had to decide where to run. I went over the dicey looking section; which looked like snow but had ice underneath in which I almost slipped but was able to stay upright. I got to the point of Hains Point in which we went from going straight to going around a curve. There were lots of slick spots not knowing if it was ice or maybe snow so I had to hold back my pace a bit. After getting around The Point; I knew the cone for the turnaround wasn't too far. I started checking my Garmin a bit more to see where my pace was as I hold importance to that. My pace had slowed down a bit as I thought it would but I was still upright and hadn't slipped yet. I thanked the volunteer at the turn around cone as she told me I looked strong and keep going as I was halfway done. As I started heading back; I noticed a few younger kids probably higher elementary age with their parents. Just like I wasn't going to let a German Sheppard beat me; I wasn't gonna let little kids beat me either. I was almost back to The Point when I saw Laura and noticed she was ahead of other 10k runners. The 10k runners had black race numbers/bibs while the 5k runners had light blue ones. I was about to look at my Garmin but I started to think that WooHoo Laura could claim overall victory so I sorta high fived her as we ran by each other in opposite directions as we were both breathing hard while saying encouraging words. That moment happened at the right time. Soon after I made it around to the curve and managed to run over snow instead of the ice my Garmin blared... Mile 2 - 8:24. Seriously not too shabby for doing most of this mile dodging ice and snow. I had just over a mile left and wasn't going to let my body slow me down. I ran by the water station again but my hands were too cold too cold to actually grab the cup of water I was reaching for. I knew my fastest time in the 5k for this course at Hains Point was just a shade over 27 minutes. I knew I could go under that but didn't know what my body had left in me. I was alone for most of this race but as I was running full speed now. Anyone I saw running was going to get encouraging words from my mouth. There were many 10k runners going back out for their second out and back and there were a few 5k runners I passed heading to the finish. I started looking at my Garmin more often to watch my pace. I know pace and time isn't everything but I'm super competitive with myself. I could see the golf course parking lot on my left. I was thrilled beyond belief to be done as my body was tired and then my Garmin blared... Mile 3 - 8:22. That was good as it was faster than the previous mile. I still had to get .11 (needed the extra .01 for Strava purposes) as I saw the little rope finish chute ahead. I ran as fast as I could to get through the chute and over the timing mat. I was only at 3.06 or 3.07 so as I ran by the two volunteers handing out finisher medals and saw Julie I didn't stop my Garmin. I did take a finisher medal though. When I saw 3.11 I stopped my Garmin and leaned over to catch my breath. I saw my Garmin and wasn't going to complain about my time. My smile beamed with joy as I hadn't seen the time or pace for a 5k in a few years. A shiny new course PR
After Race Things
A few minutes later; Laura did come in. She looked spent as she stopped her watch. We greeted each other with a huge hug and many congratulations. I knew for Laura this was some middle miles of a long training run but she's an amazing talented runner. We asked each other how our races went. I told her I was hoping she would claim overall for the 10k but it didn't seem to bother her. Julie, Laura and I talked for a bit as we waited for Overall and Age Group awards to be presented. Julie also took a pic of Laura and I together. Julie and I then got back in my car to head home and Laura went to change her running top to finish her last few long run miles.
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